I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portrait of Michael Landon

Michael Landon's eldest daughter describes her father's roles in Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Highway to Heaven, and offers anecdotes about his private life and his perspectives on dying. 100,000 first printing. Tour.

After actor, director and scriptwriter Michael Landon became incurably ill with cancer, his stepdaughter Cheryl Wilson determined "to honor and protect his name" following his death. This balanced portrait, written with freelancer Scovell, accomplishes its purpose, although the Landon it presents turns out to be less admirable than the star's heroic TV personas. Born Eugene Orowitz, the young Landon was shunned by school peers and unappreciated by his remote father and insulting mother. He Landon changed his name and later later starred as Little Joe in the TV series Bonanza ; roles in Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven soon followed. Landon married three times (Wilson is the daughter of his second wife); in general, Wilson remembers him fondly, although she was heartbroken by his decision to leave her mother, his wife of 18 years, for another woman. Two sides of Landon emerge: the model father who helped Wilson recover after a car accident and an addiction to painkillers, and the moody practical joker who withdrew from loved ones during his third marriage. More a description of Landon's domestic life than his career, this biography views him through eyes both adoring and disappointed. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

For those who grew up with television's Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Highway to Heaven, Michael Landon was a familiar and beloved figure. News of his inoperable cancer and untimely death rocked the country. Here, his stepdaughter tells his complex story, from an unhappy childhood, through several marriages, to his ultimate triumphs as a father and an actor/writer/director. She is compassionately honest about his shortcomings and continually reemphasizes his positive qualities. Cheryl's gratitude for Landon's love and generosity shine through. He treated her as his own daughter and stood by her while she recuperated from a horrifying car accident. This is as much her story as it is his, and there is an unshakable feeling of both love and sadness beyond its final pages. For circulating libraries.
- Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, N.J.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.